Pinky and the Brain first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the show Animaniacs. From 1995 to 2001, Pinky and the Brain were spun off into their own show on The WB Television Network, Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky and the Brain, with 65 episodes produced by Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation. Later, they appeared in the unsuccessful series, Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain.

Pinky and Brain are genetically enhancedlaboratory mice who reside in a cage in the Acme Labs research facility. Brain is self-centered and scheming; Pinky is good-natured but feebleminded. In each episode, Brain devises a new plan to take over the world, which ultimately ends in failure, usually due to Pinky's idiocy or the impossibility of Brain's plan. In common with many other Animaniacs shorts, many episodes are in some way a parody of something else, usually a film or novel. The opening song is preceded by the following dialogue: